Surprising Data Shows Political Letter-Writing Still Gets Out the Vote

Philip Elliott

October 01, 2021 |

Time Magazine |

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Response Location: United States

Vote Forward, an apolitical non-profit organization aimed at turning out voters, coordinated more than 50 partner organizations to boost turnout in the 2020 election through a letter-writing campaign. The letters were largely non-partisan, with letter writers encouraging people to vote rather than asking them to vote for a particular candidate. The low-cost, low-pressure tactic also brought in many first-time volunteers, with over 200,000 people writing letters. Organizers consider the campaign to be very successful, translating to about 126,000 votes in 21 states, or one percentage point nationwide.

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California's new vote-by-mail system is a big win for marginalized groups

Umme Hoque

September 29, 2021 |

Prism |

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Response Location: United States, California

A new California law makes universal mail-in voting permanent after it was temporarily adopted for the 2020 election in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Expansion of mail-in voting in 2020 resulted in higher voter turnout, especially among low-income and communities of color. Moving forward, all voters will receive a ballot in the mail 29 days before each election. Voters can fill out their ballot, return it using a prepaid envelope or drop it in a secure drop box, and track in transit online. They also still have the choice to vote in person.

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Many in Jail Can Vote, but Exercising That Right Isn't Easy

Matt Vasilogambros

July 16, 2021 |

Stateline |

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Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago's Cook County Jail enabled 2,200 incarcerated people to vote in the November 2020 election by opening the jail to voter registration drives, civic lessons, distribution of voter education materials, two weekends of early voting, and four polling places inside the jail. Most people held in local jails nationwide are eligible to vote but usually don't, due to lack of awareness, intentional barriers, and logistical hassles. Cook County helped people exercise their rights and provided them with education to improve their reentry to society after prison.

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Millions of People With Felonies Can Now Vote. Most Don't Know It.

Nicole Lewis Andrew Rodriguez Calderón

June 23, 2021 |

The Marshall Project |

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Response Location: United States, Nevada

Thirteen states restored the right to vote to millions of formerly incarcerated people in the years leading up to the 2020 elections. An analysis of four of them—Nevada, Kentucky, Iowa, and New Jersey—shows the new rights were rarely exercised, ranging from 4% to 23% of newly eligible voters actually registering. None of the four states required prison, parole, or elections officials to notify eligible voters. Those and other information gaps and barriers teach instructive lessons as the 2022 elections approach.

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For Black Voters Matter, the goal is greater community power

Haleluya Hadero

June 02, 2021 |

Associated Press |

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Response Location: United States, Georgia

Black Voters Matter raises money to support organizations and initiatives that are often too small for institutional funders to notice. The group has given millions to community-based groups in 15 states—mostly in the South—to register voters, canvass neighborhoods with voting-related information, run phone banks, and even rent buses to drive people to the polls. They’ve raised tens of millions of dollars, mostly in small donations from about 90,000 unique donors. The group, who seeks to strengthen organizations for the long run, also funds activities like free grocery distribution for those in need.

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‘Blind date' for political rivals? TV show is breaking down barriers.

Sara Miller Llana

May 05, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Response Location: Canada

The Canadian reality show, “Political Blind Date,” pairs two politicians from opposing sides to spend two days together visiting each other’s constituents and wrestling with difficult issues. Fifty politicians have participated over five seasons, averaging about 195,000 viewers per episode. The aim is not to get them to change their minds, but to humanize people with opposing political beliefs and break down the increasingly common ‘us versus them’ mindset in politics. Advocates say that this has a “trickle down” effect on viewers forging greater understanding and more respectful debate.

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Can “democracy dollars” keep real dollars out of politics?

Julia Hotz

April 28, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

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Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Democracy Vouchers, a tax-payer-funded program that sends four $25 certificates to residents to donate to local candidates, made Seattle the national leader by increasing the percent of the electorate donating to local campaigns to nearly 8%. They also allow more non-establishment candidates, who lack connections to wealthy donors, to run for office. Four of the nine 2019 city council candidates used vouchers to help fund their campaigns and the vouchers are being expanded to the city’s mayoral races. A national pilot program was also approved to try vouchers for congressional candidates in three states.

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What Other States Can Learn from Georgia's Historic Elections

Fiza Pirani

April 08, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

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Response Location: United States, Georgia

A complex combination of successful fundraising campaigns, engaging with and energizing Black voters, and mobilizing the state’s other ethnic and racial groups helped Democrats flip Georgia blue in 2020. Large financial investments allowed organizers to implement effective voter education and registration campaigns and distribute the resources to areas where the need to mobilize voters was greatest. Organizers tapped into Black culture through food, music, and the Black church to energize voters. They also conducted multiracial, multi-ethnic, and multilingual outreach to engage other marginalized groups.

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Local groups are working to keep 18-year-olds in PA excited about voting after record turnouts in 2021

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

April 01, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philly Youth Vote is a nonpartisan effort, organized by a local social studies teacher, to prepare 18-year-olds to vote. In addition to registering about 700 students in the summer of 2020, the group advocates changing social studies curriculum to include more lessons on civic participation. To connect students with on local issues that directly impact them, they brought 27 candidates to speak in 11 virtual classrooms. The students interviewed the candidates and other schools have used the recordings of the interviews as well. 74% of registered 18-year-olds in Philadelphia cast a ballot in 2020.

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The 'Army Of Environmental Super Voters' Is Growing, And Marching On City Hall

Alexander Kaufman

March 18, 2021 |

The Huffington Post |

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Response Location: United States

The Environmental Voter Project has contacted nearly 6.2 million non-voters that care about the environment in 17 states since 2015, estimating that over 733,000 of them now vote regularly. They identify voters using demographic and behavioral data, verify the data using surveys, and apply algorithms to predict “super environmentalists,” focusing on people who don’t vote. They concentrate on local elections, such as mayoral races, and call, text, and knock-on voters’ doors. They also fundraise, increasing donations from about $475,000 in 2017 to nearly $2.7 million in 2020, mostly from small donors.

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